Iran Says Taliban Absence from Tehran Meeting Won’t Harm Bilateral Ties

The Director-General for South Asia at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that the absence of Taliban representatives from a recent meeting in Tehran will not negatively affect ongoing bilateral relations and cooperation between Tehran and Kabul.

Mohammad Reza Bahrami highlighted Tehran’s policy toward Afghanistan, stating that Iran emphasizes Afghanistan’s political and economic integration into regional structures and mechanisms, and views the country’s stability as dependent on collective cooperation among regional nations.

According to Iranian media reports, Bahrami added that from Tehran’s perspective, the presence of an Afghan representative at such gatherings could have accelerated the country’s integration with regional political and economic circles. However, he noted, the decision by the Afghan side is respected.

The meeting of special representatives from Afghanistan’s neighboring countries, along with Russia, was held in Tehran on Sunday, December 13. The goal of the summit was to assess the situation in Afghanistan and coordinate regional viewpoints on the country’s developments.